


A Game of Chat and Mouse

by EpicLilKitty



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: F/M, MariChat4Lyfe, Protective Chat Noir, chat noir knows
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-02-02
Updated: 2018-02-02
Packaged: 2019-03-12 16:19:40
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,618
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13551042
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EpicLilKitty/pseuds/EpicLilKitty
Summary: When Adrien Agreste begins to suspect that sweet, unassuming Marinette Dupain-Cheng is also brave confident Ladybug, heroine of Paris and love of his life, he decides to dawn his leather catsuit and do a bit of investigating of his own





	1. *Is Actually A Prologue >_>...*

**Author's Note:**

> Guuuuys, I warn you now. Be prepared for ridiculously adorable MariChat fluff to ensue. These two are literally my life. I know they're the same people but I would one hundred percent be okay with foregoing a reveal if they just gave us MariChat instead. That is how invested I am with this couple lmao.

Chat Noir shifted his weight from one foot to the next, a soft sigh escaping him. It was winter, and the sharp bite of the wind was turning the tip of his nose a rosy pink. He wasn’t entirely certain how long he had been sitting there in the cold, green cat eyes fixated on the bakery below. Two hours at least, maybe even three or four. Long enough, at least, for Tom Dupain to flip the sign on the door from open to close, and long enough for all of the lights in their upstairs apartment to be flipped off. All except one, that is. The circular window below the bakery’s rooftop balcony still glowed with a soft, warm light. A very inviting light. Chat Noir had to sternly remind himself that he wasn’t here on a friendly visit. He was here on a mission, and he was determined not to let himself be side-tracked by his cat-like tendencies. After all, up until two days ago, Chat would never have imagined that his sweet, shy, and adorably awkward classmate, Marinette Dupain-Cheng, could possibly be the brave, bold, and fearless Ladybug that had captured his heart… and the hearts of all of Paris as well. Sure, the two shared some similar qualities. There were times when Marinette was as stubborn and feisty as the Ladybug he knew and loved… like when she was arguing with Chloe Bourgeois or was defending a classmate. And there were times when Ladybug, rare though they might be, showed that same nervous, awkward energy that Marinette possessed. Both women only seemed to show it around Chat’s civilian form, Adrien Agreste, though. There was that time Chat had saved Marinette from the Evillustrator, of course, when she had practically acted like a gushing fangirl. He smiled smugly at the memory. Ladybug would never have gushed about how awesome he was. But… maybe it was all just an act? She couldn’t exactly act totally comfortable around a superhero she had supposedly never met, so it made sense that she would make him think Marinette was an adoring fan.

Growling in quiet frustration, Chat pondered his current options. On the one paw, he could continue to sit out here freezing his tail off in the _hopes_ that Marinette would just happen to step out onto her balcony and transform. A good idea in retrospect… except that she wasn’t the one who was supposed to be patrolling the city tonight. That job was squarely on Chat’s shoulders. On the other paw, he could go down there and just demand she tell him the truth… but she wouldn’t like that. Besides, she could easily just deny it and he would be back to square one… except that likely, she would be more on guard and his chances of catching her in the midst of a transformation would drastically fall. So… that one was out too. He supposed he could try finding out as Adrien but Marinette was already so jumpy around his civilian form, the likelihood of him succeeding was extremely slim. He sighed, breath fogging out in front of him, Lifting on black leather-clad hand, he ran his clawed fingers through his unruly mop of blonde hair. He _needed_ to know if Marinette was his Lady… but _how?_ Frowning, he thought back to two days ago… when this whole, stupid ordeal had first started. The day itself had no real significance. It was a Tuesday, perhaps a bit unseasonably warm for the time of year, but altogether a normal day by all accounts and purposes…


	2. *Is Secretly Chapter One <_<...*

_**TWO DAYS EARLIER** _

__

“Adrien? Are you ready for school?” Nathalie’s voice preceded the three, short raps on his bedroom door. The blonde haired teen reached forward and immediately snapped the computer monitor off, having no desire for his father’s assistant to see his screen saver. It was silly, he knew that. There was nothing  _ wrong _ or even inappropriate about the screensaver. Still, he wanted to keep his quest of discovering Ladybug’s true identity a secret. Even Alya, one of his closest friends and creator of the Lady Blog didn’t know just how avidly he followed her findings. Rising from the desk, he crossed the room, glancing around quickly to ensure his Kwami, Plagg, was out of sight, and then tugged the door open to reveal Nathalie. She paused with mild surprise, fist halfway raised to knock again, before dropping her arm and straightening up; the epitome of composure. “Ah, you’re ready then.” She said, nodding in satisfaction. Adrien Agreste had to suppress an eye roll as the woman spun on her heel and began striding away, clearing expecting him to follow her. He did so without a word. It was nearing eight in the morning, and Adrien had been up since half past five. His schedule often included early wake-up calls, so that he could complete his Chinese and Piano lessons before attending school. After school, he usually had photo shoots or more lessons. Sometimes both. 

In middle school, it hadn’t been too bad. When Adrien first began attending public school back in the eighth grade, he had only one friend, Chloe Bourgeois. She was a lot to handle at times, so having some separation from her wasn’t always a bad thing. Now, however, he had real friends who he actually enjoyed hanging out with. Friends he wanted to spend his free time with. Ever since he entered the tenth grade, however, his father had practically doubled his modeling schedule leaving very little time for the young man to have, let alone  _ see _ his friends. Realizing he had paused at the top of the grand staircase, lost in his musings, Adrien hurried to catch up with Nathalie, who was already crossing the foyer towards the door where his bodyguard/chauffeur, the Gorilla, stood waiting. When the blond haired boy caught up, Nathalie turned to him. She didn’t smile-she rarely ever did. She was a bit like his father in that way, except her lack of a smile never really seemed cold or even indifferent. Not like his father’s constantly stoic demeanor. Reserved was a better word for the woman who had practically raised him after his mother’s disappearance.

“You have a photo shoot tonight, Adrien. I expect you to be home by 7 pm sharp, is that understood?” She asked, arching an eyebrow expectantly.

“Yes, Nathalie,” Adrien said, accepting the gray messenger bag the Gorilla silently offered him.

“Until then, you are free to do whatever you wish… so long as you stay out of trouble.” She said sternly. The boy lifted his eyebrows in mild surprise. It wasn’t often that he was given such freedom and the thought of seeing Nino and hanging out with him after school caused a thrill of excitement to slide up his spine.

“Um… yes… of course. Thank you, Nathalie!” He smiled at her and swore he saw a subtle shift in her facial expression. A faint warmth in her eyes, a slight softening of lips… but the change was gone before he could be sure and her face resumed its ever-familiar distance. Adrien followed the Gorilla out to the limo, feeling lighter than he had in a long time… but his joy was extremely short-lived. Forty minutes later, sitting in class next to his best friend Nino, Adrien sighed dejectedly.

“Sorry, dude, I have… important stuff I have to do. Can’t back out, or I would totally hang out with you today.” Nino Lahiffe shrugged apologetically, before sending a quick, surreptitious glance over his shoulder. Shoulders slumped slightly, Adrien shook his head sadly. Of course, the one day he had free, his best friend would be busy with… stuff… whatever  _ that _ meant.

“It’s okay, Nino. It was last minute. I understand.” The blonde haired boy finally said, his smile warming slightly. He was about to pull out his school book and perhaps focus on that when inspiration struck and he spun around in his seat to face the two girls that always sat behind him and Nino. The girls had their heads bent close together and at first didn’t notice his focus had turned towards them. The one on the left, directly behind him, was talking animatedly about something-a dress, from the sounds of it-her dark pigtails bouncing from the force of her enthusiasm. The one on the right, directly behind Nino, was nodding along thoughtfully although her eyes were glued steadfastly to the smartphone in her hand. It was the girl on the left who noticed his curious gaze on them first. Her blue eyes lifted, catching and holding on his own for a brief moment. It was almost comical, how immediately and drastically her demeanor changed. Her voice trailed off into a high-pitched sound that could only aptly be described as an ‘eep!’ Heat crept up her neck, spilled into her cheeks, and climbed clear up to the roots of her hair while her eyes widened slightly and she all but leaped backward in her seat.

This, naturally, drew a curious gaze from the other girl. She glanced between the two, a thoughtful expression on her face, and Adrien had to wonder what she was thinking. He smiled sheepishly and gave a half wave at the pair, shoving the first girl’s response to the back of his mind. After all, she was always a bit jumpy around him. That wasn’t exactly new. “Hey, sorry. I didn’t mean to startle you, Marinette.” He apologized, a small smile curving his lips. Marinette squeaked wordlessly and he glanced at Alya, the second girl, in confusion.

“She accepts your apology.” Alya translated, setting her cellphone down to give the blonde her undivided attention. Folding her hands together, she smiled slyly at him. “Is there something you needed, Agreste? Or were you just awestruck by Marinette’s unparalleled beauty?” The tanned girl asked, arching a brow in challenge. Now, it was Adrien’s turn to blush and laugh awkwardly.

“ALYA!” Marinette exclaimed in protest, sitting bolt upright and glaring daggers at her best friend. The ombre-haired girl shrugged, completely unperturbed, and looked expectantly at Adrien, awaiting his response. Adrien cleared his throat awkwardly, cheeks still a little red before he answered.

“Um… actually, I was going to ask if you were busy after school? Nino can’t hang out and I don’t have to be home until this evening so…” He trailed off with a shrug, watching the blogger curiously. It was almost like he could hear the gears churning in her mind.

“Sorry, Adrien. I’m also busy today… with stuff.” She said, in a tone very similar to the one Nino had used when he had said  _ he _ was busy doing ‘stuff’. Before he could dwell on it though, Marinette spoke up, confusion evident in her voice.

“You didn’t tell me you were busy today, Alya… are you doing something for the Lady Blog?” Marinette asked curiously. Alya looked at her friend, looked at Adrien, and then looked over his shoulder at Nino. Slowly, a mischievous smile curved her lips and when she spoke again, it wasn’t the answer to Marinette’s question.

“I’m busy… but Marinette isn’t! Why don’t you two hang out?” The blogger exclaimed brightly. Marinette flushed and stared dumbfounded at her friend, before glancing nervously at Adrien, as if waiting for him to deny hanging out with her.

“Oh, no… Adrien, you don’t… that is to say, we don’t have too… you probably have more important things you could be doing…” Marinette stammered, looking like she was on the verge of tears.

“I don’t mind.” Adrien cut in, a half amused, half worried smile playing on his lips. “That is… if you  _ want  _ to hang out, Marinette.” He added, a light blush covering his cheeks. Marinette hesitated, but an elbow to the ribs courtesy of Alya had her nodding in mute agreement. Adrien grinned, choosing not to be offended by the fact that Marinette seemed to have no desire to hang out with him. “Great! What do you want to do? I have the whole afternoon free.” He said, beaming at her widely. Perhaps it was his obvious enthusiasm, or perhaps she was just warming up to the idea of spending the afternoon with him, but either way, a small smile began to curve Marinette’s lips and she seemed to relax a bit.

“Well… I did just get  _ Ultimate Mecha Strike IX _ … If, uh… if you wanted to play that?” She offered, uncertainty clouding her face. The boy’s grin only broadened, causing the girl to relax even further with obvious relief. He bobbed his head enthusiastically.

“Sounds great, Marinette! So… meet me in the commons area after school?” He asked expectantly. A nervous smile lit the girl’s face but it was a smile nonetheless and that gave the boy a confidence boost.

“Um… yeah! It’s a date!” The girl exclaimed as the bell rang, signaling the start of class. There was a beat of silence before mortification clouded her face and she quickly backtracked, stumbling over herself and rambling about it obviously not being a 'date' date… just a friend date… but no, that wasn’t what she meant… it clearly wasn’t a date at all. Adrien laughed heartily, falling silent only once their teacher gave them a warning look, and flashed her a reassuring smile. Turning around in his seat, Adrien felt a buzz of excitement race through him. Marinette was a little odd, but Adrien enjoyed her company and was sure their afternoon together would be a great one. Especially since he had witnessed firsthand how relaxed and competitive Marinette became when playing video games. She was like a whole other person, and he was excited to see more of that side of her.

 

A dreamy sigh escaped Marinette as she watched Adrien turn to face the front. For once she barely minded their teacher’s disapproving look, too caught up in the fact that  _ she,  _ Marinette Dupain-Cheng, was going to be hanging out with  _ Adrien Agreste _ for the whole afternoon. _Alone._ It was a dream come true! Since almost the moment she had met the blonde-haired model, four years ago, she had been hopelessly, head-over-heels in love with the boy. He was kind, thoughtful, and extremely humble considering his upbringing. Unlike Chloe Bourgeois, Adrien Agreste wasn’t the type to flaunt his wealth or status. She would be lying if she didn’t admit she also found his innocence and naivety to be totally and completely endearing. Hard to believe she had ever thought he was anything like Chloe. The thought was positively laughable now. Beside her, Alya nudged her and winked conspiratorially. Marinette knew she would have to thank her devious best friend later. After all, if not for her suggestion Marinette likely would have spent the afternoon doing homework, sitting in her room alone,  _ without _ the man of her dreams.

After that, class was pretty uneventful. A good thing, since the young woman most certainly was not paying attention. They were currently studying the history of past superheroes-a subject brought on by Hawk Moth’s latest failed attempt at stealing the Miraculous-and normally, a subject like this would have fascinated the pigtailed girl. In the past four years, her Kwami Tikki had told her a bit more about the Miraculous and their past holders. Her favorite pair were Alice and Edward, who had lived in New York during the nineteen twenties. The history books didn’t have the full story, and what little they did have was mostly inaccurate anyway. But Marinette had a first-hand account from her companion. As the story went, Alice had been in her early twenties when she met Edward. She was Flapper by day, and by night she was New York’s Heroine. The mysterious Madame Ladybug. Edward was a young college student and up-and-coming reporter. By day, he worked for the New York Times, but by night he was a bonafide mob boss, known as Diable Chat. From what Tikki had told her, Diable Chat wasn’t exactly a good guy and, in fact, used his Miraculous for evil purposes up until Madame Ladybug stepped in and changed everything. During her quest to bring him to justice, the pair fell in love and she eventually changed him for the better. He left his life of crime behind and together they lived happily ever after. To Marinette, it was a wonderfully romantic story even if she couldn’t fathom ever falling for her own Partner in that way. They had overcome an incredible obstacle and didn’t allow it to break their bond.

Glancing at the boy before her, she could almost imagine that  _ he _ was her partner… but she quickly shoved that thought to the very back of her mind. Chat and Adrien were two totally different people. Chat was loyal, dependable, flirtatious, and adventurous. Adrien was quiet, thoughtful, sweet, and shy. To think they could be one and the same was absolutely ridiculous. The rest of class went by relatively quickly, as Marinette forced herself to focus on her schoolwork as opposed to the unnerving image of Adrien Agreste, clad in head to toe black leather. It was a distracting thought, to say the least, but somehow, she managed to complete the assignment handed out… with Alya’s help. The rest of the day was much the same. Marinette had finished most of her required credits last year. Aside from one math class, a history class, and gym which was unfortunately required all four years, she had two electives and one free period she usually reserved for studying. 

She only shared a few classes with her three best friends, and history was the only one she had with all three of them. She shared math with Nino and Alya; the boys were both in her gym and free periods, and her second to last period of the day was Home Economics. It was her favorite, partially because she was good at both cooking and sewing which made up a large part of the curriculum, but also because it was the period where she had Adrien all to herself. Today, for perhaps the first time in months, Marinette arrived early. Not only early; she was the first one in the classroom. Even the Teacher, Madame Duval, had yet to arrive. Her previous class had been dismissed earlier than usual when a fight had broken out between two normally quiet students. With fists flying and insults being hurled about like daggers, the teacher had opted to send them to their next class rather than have them sit awkwardly in the midst of a veritable war zone. The pigtailed girl settled into her usual seat and almost immediately Tikki, her Kwami, flew out of her purse to hover in front of her face. She had a wide grin on her face, so Marinette already knew what she was going to say before she said it.

“Marinette! Are you excited about your date with Adrien?” She giggled, blue eyes twinkling with mirth. Marinette smiled in amusement and shook her head at the little creature. When they had first become partners, the girl spent a lot of her time wondering how she had gotten so lucky. Well, after the initial shock, fear, and insecurity wore off. Tikki had become one of her closest and dearest friends in the past four years of fighting together and now, it was hard to imagine what life would be without the Kwami. Hell, it was hard to remember what life was like  _ before _ the Kwami entered her life.

“Tikki! It’s not a date! And lower your voice. What if Adrien hears you?” Marinette hissed, shooting a furtive glance at the still empty doorway. The Kwami grinned and shook her head in exasperation at her Chosen's priorities.

“Marinette, if someone hears me, we would have bigger problems than your crush finding out you like him,” she pointed out, causing the girl to chuckle.

“I guess you’re right, Tikki. Still, you shouldn’t talk quite so loud. Madame Duval could walk in at any moment, you know…” The Kwami nodded sagely, agreeing with the girl’s logic. Still, she didn’t immediately return to Marinette’s purse. Instead, her face grew serious; more serious than Marinette was used to seeing on the bubbly little creature’s face.

“Are you alright? Truly? You aren’t too nervous about hanging with Adrien?” She asked quickly, just as the bell signaling the end of the previous period rang out.

“I’ll be okay, Tikki. I’m not fourteen anymore. I can actually formulate sentences around him now… most of the time. Besides, Adrien is my friend first and foremost. Even if he never returns my feelings, he was so excited to get to hang out with friends today. I couldn’t take that away from him.” She explained, a slight frown creasing her brow. Her eyes darted warily towards the doorway but luckily the Home Economics room was in a back corner of the school. There were few classes in session near them so they had a bit of time before anyone wandered into class. Still, they were testing fate and that made the girl nervous. The red and black Kwami’s eyes softened with a mixture of pride and affection, as well as understanding.

“You’ve gotten so wise, Marinette. I really am proud of the young woman you’ve become. Master Fu is pleased as well.” Tikki floated closer and pressed affectionately into her Miraculous Holder’s cheek before dropping down into the girl’s hand, relishing this brief moment they had shared. Their momentary peace was shattered, however, when a floorboard creaked outside and without a word, Tikki shot into the purse, both of them hoping their Ladybug luck would win out and no one had seen or heard the Kwami.


End file.
